An inquest into the death of a baby born at Milton Keynes General Hospital has concluded that if he had been delivered sooner, it is highly liked he would have survived.

Joshua Burr's mother Nicola was induced in March 2014, but when that failed she was sent home. When Joshua was born a few days later he suffered a cardiac arrest and died.

The coroner said there were lost opportunities to assess the situation and do a Caesarean section in the days before the birth.

A lawyer for the family said that whilst the case was heartbreaking, it will hopefully prevent similar cases happening in the future.

“This is a truly heartbreaking case – Nicola and Neil were looking forward to being parents for the first-time to their twins.

“The findings of the Serious Untoward Incident report carried out by the NHS Trust and the independent report by a medical expert are extremely concerning as they highlight several issues with fetal monitoring and management of multiple gestations and Joshua is also one of five young babies who died at the hospital which are currently being investigated.

“We hope that the recommendations are taken into account by the NHS Trust and steps are taken to ensure lessons are learnt from this tragedy.”

– Kate Major, specialist medical negligence lawyer, Irwin Mitchell

The hospital says it has since made significant changes to improve how babies are monitored, and communication between staff.